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So it’s been a while, and you may be asking what is the future of Wisecracking Comedy??

Well the truth is I don’t know, I would like to do more comedy shows some day, but it takes money, time, and then even more money, oh and did I forget to say money. I will in time do another show but first I must make money to fund this little hobby business so I started a real business in the mean time. Even that business is still getting going, I will keep you posted when I have more clear details to share.

Until then know that even though comedy is taking a back seat, I hope to try again sometime in 2014 if I can.

So I went to a comedy show last night in Albert Lea, it was put on by Jeff Polis a local comedian and had hired 3 comedians including headliner Isaac Witty who was the headliner of my last show in Mankato. Last nights show had about 25 customers myself included, it was hardly a big crowd but it was a good show.

While the first two acts were not family friendly, it was funny. I enjoy going to stand up comedy shows, but I fear it is a dying business even Jeff announced after the show that he has been putting on 3 shows a year for the last 10 years, but he may not continue with such small crowds.

I have lived in Albert Lea for over 6 years and have been through before then and I never heard of his shows until after I did my first show here in Albert Lea. I know I heard a commercial for the Comedy Live event on 94-9 The Breeze, and I saw a flier at Kwik Trip but I don’t know how much they advertised.

While I love the idea of going to live stand up comedy shows, and I think putting them on is even cooler I know I won’t keep tilting at windmills for long. I don’t know maybe the idea of going out and having fun with your family is a thing of the past and I just need to wake up and smell the coffee.

– you’re reading this book free on wisecracking.com courtesy of Wisecracking Comedy of Albert Lea –

Chapter 4 – Holikow, Minnesota

Things in this town got cold, and the once peaceful center of town turned into a battle ground. It was as hard as it could get out there, when what was once the path no one would go down became the place everyone seemed to be heading. and many carried big sticks and those who didn’t clearly knew which side there were on. For over a month the battle raged, the town was divided except when our Scandinavian boys went out to fight those from other states. Our Scandinavian boys fought with all they had to tackle the opponents. Well that’s enough on football, now back to hockey! “WHAT?” exclaimed Ole as he continued to tell the story to Kids that had gathered at the Diner, now with their mouths hung open, “Well what else would I talking about?”

The way Dad could tell a story. He told the kids of some of the great stories of days gone by including when He played on Lake Jovial in the unofficial city hockey tournaments “The Holy Wars” took place. Where each year the Lutheran Church on the north side of town challenged the Baptist church on the South side of town, and the two Catholic churches on the East and the west side of the lake to a hockey tournament. By the end of the season one the churches was considered the hockey champion for the year.

Lake Jovial is in the center of town and for about a mile in each direction from the lake is the boarder of our unique little farm town of Holikow Minnesota. With a population 4,367 Our town is located just Northwest of the Twin Cities. It was founded 1898 by a group of Scandinavian business people to helped people who moved to America from Scandinavian countries to start farms.

Among the immigrants that came here were my family. My Grandfather Olaf a man I never knew, came over to this country with his pregnant wife Lena and young Daughter in 1909 they were given some acreage in exchange for their work and 20% of all the crops raised. It was by no means an easy life, but it was a good life.

My Father Ole recalls is life as a young man on the farm, “Yeah know boy back then things were different, men and women alike had to work hard from dawn to dusk. It didn’t matter if you were young or old, everyone did their share of the work often it meant long days, from sunup to sundown. Most people even the well to do lived very simple lives. And everyone was grateful for what they had.” Ole continues “My Mother Lena was nearly brought to tears most years during the dust bowl when the crops were not doing well because of the lack of rain. I know she and everyone prayed a lot during those times. The thing that kept our family farm afloat was that we had horses and we bread them. Everyone needed horses to keep their own farms going.

Often my parents who had very little themselves would give the horses away to families that could not afford to buy them, and in the process we created a very close nit community. The sacrifices my parents made literally helped the whole community of Holikow survive.

It was quite a different time back then, our community was not much more than a grain elevator and a gas station with a lot of farms all around. The Erickson Family was a big family when they moved to this country. While Hans’ Father started a farmstead many of Hans’ other family lived in town and worked for The Anderson family (which is your Mom Emma’s family) at the new food processing plant they opened.

Emma who was born in Europe transferred to the local school in town when Her Father came to this Country to help oversee the plants operations.

In the summer of 2013 we planning to bring new comedy shows to Albert Lea Minnesota. The exact schedule is not set, so be sure to check out the new facebook event page we set up. Also you can check out our main facebook page.

Please invite your friends and share the page so we can build awarness that quality family shows are coming soon to Albert Lea!

A large factor in writing this book was my want to see Hanna grow up right, and I wanted to making a difference in the world. Most of what is written comes from the journals I had kept for Hanna, which I gave to her on her sixteenth birthday. What follows is some of the entries through the years that lead up to what is happening today.

By the time Hanna entered Kidneygarden it was clear she was smart like her mother, she better knew how to use that 286 computer more than we did. The thing is she also had the same handyman smarts my Dad and I had, I guess she was just around good teachers!

On the first day of Kidneygarden the teacher showed a movie to help the kids adjust. About half way through the show Hanna began to cry, when the teacher asked what was wrong, Hanna replied “It’s night time and I should be home!” Well her teacher let her look outside for a bit, then after she was satisfied that it was still day time she sat back down and didn’t have another problem the rest of the year.

She enjoyed school and enjoyed learning, in fact she even looked forward to going back to school for the first grade. A feeling I know I never had. About the only thing she really hated about school was the fact that she couldn’t spend as much time at the radio studio with her grandparents.

Two major events happen in the first grade that really shaped Hanna’s future. First, she was upset to find out they had no sports opportunities for girls in Her school, so she convinced little Tommy to sign up for peewee football, and she went in his place disguised as him and actually made the team. She even managed to play one game before getting caught. After making a convincing argument they let her stay on the team for the year. And in the process she managed to make a life long friend in Tommy. The type of friendship I wished I could have had with Maria. While I admit Hanna’s lie wasn’t the best way to handle the situation, I have to admire her for the way she proved her point.

The Second major event in Hanna’s life was one day at the park after school Sara a girl I knew from my school days happened to ride by on her horse. Sara was heading back to her job at the nearby stables and when she saw me she stopped for a bit to talk. I was really surprised considering she was one of the girls I treated so badly.

Well I got to talking with Sara and she told me that she didn’t blame me for what happened in the past, and that she was really happy to see the good job I’d been doing with Hanna. She continued to say in a way it was like we never stopped talking because she liked listening to the radio show my Mom and Dad did.

Over the course of the next summer Sara and Hanna got close, Sara taught her how to ride a horse, and how to swim. Hanna seemed to like the horses better though, I’m not sure if it was the horses themselves or if was the day trips on horse back. At the same time Sara and I also got close and began dating. We decided in part because of Hanna that it would be best to marry and have a child soon while Hanna was still young. Plus we just knew deep inside that we were ready.

Hanna’s little brother Karl was born in may as Hanna was about to finish second grade. She became an excellent big sister to Karl. Our family was complete.

Around that same time Jimmy Carter lost the election I thought he was sure to win, which I really hoped would have happened. But after some time and watching Reagan’s speeches, I felt Reagan probably wasn’t such a bad guy after all.

By the time I’d given the journals to Hanna on her sweet sixteen many other events had passed and it was clear that my beautiful little girl was growing up. And I know she grew inside at the same time as her body did on the outside, to make a very complete and loving person, the opposite of me at her age. I was extremely relieved.

While Hanna was in school Her two closest friends were Jennifer which was called Jen for short and Tommy both of which lived close to Hanna.
An event that happened to Jen was recorded in history by my parents on their radio show. When Jen was 11 she had learned how to play the drums and had gotten to be very good, and by 16 she decided to answer an ad that was looking for a drummer in a local garage band of kids her age.

The kid who was the lead singer John had went out of town with his family and the other two members of the band who played guitar where put in charge of finding a new drummer. Well when they heard her play they loved it, and hired her.

The three had been playing together for a few days, when John came back. The first words out of John’s mouth were “who’s the chick?”

When they told him that she was the new drummer, something inside of him snapped. He said some rude, sexist things that really hurt Jen. She stormed out and came over to Our basement were Hanna, Tommy and Her were talking.

I had just came home from work and couldn’t help but over hearing some of the conversation, so in Dad mode I went down to see if I could be of any help. When I heard it was John who was the one who the conflict was over, I understood some background that the kids didn’t know.

John in many ways was like me when I was growing up, but what made him so angry was the abuse he faced from his birth Father. His Father and Mother were heavy into drugs among other things. His Father became an angry man and began beating his Mom and him, so one day the county works came and took him away. He now lives with his Uncle and Aunt. While he has adjusted in so many ways there are still many signs of a troubled youth that come out in certain situations.

I tried to help the kids understand some of what was at the core of John’s attitude. I later went over and talked to his uncle, who told me that the other boys in the band refused to play with John until he apologized to Jen.

I’d come up with an idea, that I would talk to John about going on the radio with his band someday soon, and while I was at it talked to him about my past with some select stories. After building a relationship with him and sharing stories and hope, he saw that I was serious and wanted to help him.

The next day John talked to Jen at school, the two shook hands and agreed to give this band thing a try. A couple of months had passed, and like I promised the whole band got to be on the Ole and Emma show. They all had a great time and for one day that country station rocked!

During the year after Hanna graduated high school she was trying to decide what to do with her life, radio or teaching. So she went to the annual radio convention with her Grandpa where she met Todd Wright who was just a year older than her. Todd had been recently hired by Twin Cities radio station “1180 The Hornet” as a talk show host, because of all the articles and debates he participated in when he was in school. They thought he was a good choice to help, “stir up the Hornets’ nest.”

They fell in love in much the same way Sara and I did, and before I knew it My little Hanna was walking down the isle on her way to becoming Mrs. Wright.

She eventually decided to pursue teaching. On Her first day in the classroom as a teacher, a smart-aleck student asked her after she introduced herself as Mrs. Wright, if her first name was always or never. She replied ALWAYS and don’t forget it! The name Always probably wasn’t to far from the truth, and the name stuck.

It was little awkward for Karl to be in his Sisters’ class but they managed. That was probably the only problem with Hanna’s decision to become a teacher. Maybe things in this town are perfect after all.

Not to long after Hanna came to live with us, Mom and Dad started a new job as Morning show radio hosts at the local Country radio station AM 1050 RWNB known as “God’s Country” which seemed strange at first but it worked, they were naturals and attracted quite a following. The way they talked about life and the music they played it all just came together.

Over the years when Mom and Dad did their radio show, Hanna and I were in the studio on a regular basis. They enjoyed talking about their family, friends, and other life experiences. Among their favorite topics was little Hanna. They even talked about me, their son Harold.

I really enjoyed listen to the little quips and how they analyzed the lyrics of the music they played, they really had a lot of knowledge. For the first time in my life I really started listening. Many people through out the area felt the same. While many other DJs were getting rude and crude, my parents were doing just the opposite. The “Ole and Emma in da morning” show quickly became a favorite of people who could pick up the station. Because of Holikow’s location and frequency we could be clearly heard in most of the Twin Cities area. The broadcast into the Twin Cities was intentional on the part of the station owner Gunner Erickson because of the aggressive nature the Metro stations to get their signal out to the motorist, and cabin owners in the area. Gunner felt that much of what they broadcast was negative. His concerned about the side effects to “hearing all that trash” was and would be devastating to the community, so he fought fire with fire.

I remember that, many people in the community thought Gunner was just being paranoid. But my parents truly believed in what He had to say. After the years went by and the shows on other stations got worse and society at large got worse, I came to believe the same way Gunner did.

One of the benefits of the radio business is sponsors gave you free stuff to promote their product or service. On one such day after the show, The True Blue Diner invited us to lunch to discuss a new advertising campaign they were about to do. I remember Dad got in a long heated discussion with the owner over politics. For awhile we all thought Dad blow it, when he went into “The Big Theory” which went something like this.

Ole says “I believe that the reason why we have problems is because people are unwilling to listen to other people. Most of us including myself are so self centered they don’t see the simple solution staring them in the face. Over time we have the same old problems and we forget to look at what we already know about them and look for some new solution. Most young people think that Us old folks couldn’t possibly know what’s going on with the things of today, and that’s just plain wrong because life is a cycle and the details may be new but the core issues remain the same. People who forget history are doomed to repeat it. At the same time many of us older folks resist the new, which can be just as bad as ignoring the past.

People look at all that went wrong in the past, like slavery, and the way women were treated, and conclude that there was no value in that bigoted, racist society. Well that’s throwing the baby out with the bath water to me, we learn from our mistakes.”

Dad went on to even more detail and the back and forth continued for some time. Eventually they got to the business part, but I had already started to think about my past, and focused out of the main conversation. The rest of that day I reflected on my past.

Over the month following Mom and Dad’s retirement party, Maria and I had became boyfriend and girlfriend. She was a nice Christian girl, and I was the opposite in all ways. But I really made an effort to be good to her. The relationship had continued to be non-sexual for nearly a year or so which was outline for my character.

Then has my birthday approached, Maria having no money to get me a gift, and with a lot of pressure from me, she gave me the only gift she could afford. Which looking back it was really the most expensive gift she could give. And for Me the gift of Hanna is far more valuable than that one night thing.

Part of me now wishes I would have had the maturity then to make Maria my friend, instead of my girlfriend. To this day we would probably still be a part of each others lives.

I have never totally forgiven myself for the sins my youth, but one thing I know for sure is I wouldn’t change a thing. Because if I had the power to change all the wrong in my life, I would not have my beautiful daughter Hanna today. It is truly amazing how God can make good out of a persons sins.

On that day after listening to “The Big Theory” I decided I would start writing things down, and keep a very extensive journal for Hanna when she turned sixteen. I figured it would both give her an idea of happened in Her younger years, and also give her a guide post to help her from repeating some of the same mistakes I made.

I remember it was the beginning of November in 1975 is when Mom and Dad started doing the Ole and Emma Show. By Thanksgiving Day they were old pros. On Thanksgiving day they played a special year in review show that they pre-recorded. One of the parts of their show was they way they personalized the news by telling little stories with almost every story. They helped make this crazy world seem understandable. And that Thanksgiving broadcast really became the essence of their show, warm family memories and the news all wrapped up in one neat package.

About that same time Country music begin changing too, maybe Nashville found God, or maybe the songwriters just felt it was time for healing. Country music had always told stories, many of which lightened the soul. Prior to that time Country music had rebel themes, which started to become Patriotic and Religious. Songs that once told of barrooms begin to be replaced by songs of family.

I remember well one of Dad’s favorite songs in the early days of the show was “An Okie from Muskogee” Which said we don’t burn our draft cards or smoke marijuana, and talked about knowing right from wrong. I feel that my Dad probably in part played that song for me, since I was so hard hit by that whole “sex, drugs and rock & roll” thing. Dad and Mom would then after the song played discuss what it all meant. Maybe then share a news story or family story to tie it all together.

Basically what made the show so popular was the stories they told and their positive attitude. Many things in the late 70’s and early 80’s were a mess. While the President talked about the misery index, Mom and Dad told great old farm stories. They put their hopeful outlook into every heart that listened to the show, and spoke of how are children and grandchildren would grow up in an even better world. The way they saw it was “yes bad things happen but they just overshadow all the good things that happen.”

I told Dad I wanted Hanna to understand what went on when she was young and I was writing a journal for her. So I asked my Dad to tell me about some stories on how and why he got into the radio business. The first story He told me was about “Gunner and the radio station” and here is how it went.

“Gunner was an unusual man in many ways, he spent hours coming up with concepts and ideas for just about everything. So much time he devoted to figuring things out, he never found the time to get married. Don’t get me wrong Gunner was a nice man, and very intelligent. In fact he could have had just about any woman in town he wanted, at least that’s what I gather from what I overheard many a woman say about Gunner.

I was too old to have been drafted to go to Vietnam but Gunner was a young buck and his number came up, so he proudly went to defend a cause he thought was worth fighting. When he went to the draft office the commanders in charge decided the young man with the Swedish name Gunner would be a perfect candidate for the position of Gunner in the Air Force.

So in 1967 Gunner at age 33, went to Vietnam to serve his country. He and the crew he served on had many successful missions, until in the fall of 1970 when the Bird He was in was shot down. A rescue crew managed to save him, but it was to late for the pilot and co-pilot. Gunner was badly wounded and was discharged with honors. It took the good part of 1971 for him to recover both mentally and physically.

Gunners’ older brother Hans worked for me on my farm at the time. Hans was like the younger brother I never had. In my small family I was the middle child. I had both an older and younger sister. In Hans family there were 5 boys and 2 girls, and by the time it was time to pass on the Erickson family farm it was only big enough to support 4 families. So Gunner and Hans went to look for other work, and one of their Sisters was already a school teacher. The other 4 siblings took control of the farm. Gunner found work with a company that built electronic components. And Hans went to work for me on the Olson family Farm.

My wife Emma and I had our first child in 1937 and a second in 1939. My Father Olaf passed on in 1940 leaving me in charge of the farm at age 30. We had a simple quite farm life for the most part.

Gunner on the other hand was always thinking and always busy with some project, some was for the company he worked for but most was his hobbies. He was a quite man and kept to himself a lot before the war. But in 1972 He was talking like there was no tomorrow, He became very involved in the community and in politics. He decided to use his electronics knowledge and He applied for a radio station broadcasting license. He was granted in AM 1050 KWNB and it begin broadcasting in the fall of 1972. He started it out has a news and farm station. Later he started playing some Country music to get a bigger audience. The station call letters Gunner picked meant K)ountry W)estern N)ews B)ureau

By the year 1973 The town we lived in Holikow, Minnesota was nearly a part of the Twin Cities metro area and the Twin Cities stations did all they could to have a better signal out in the lake country where many city folks had cabins. And with new homes were going up closer and closer to our old Holikow the metro stations were concerned with getting their signals out to our neck of the woods.

That wouldn’t have been so bad, Gunner wasn’t afraid of a little competition. What bothered Gunner and many of us was what they begin broadcasting. The DJ’s were becoming rude and crude, the songs weren’t much better. And Gunner believed that everything you heard and saw led you to act a certain way. He was very concerned with the cultural aspect of how media affected us all.

Gunner decided to buy a bigger broadcast tower and get a stronger signal. He put up the new tower two miles Southeast of town, and took down and sold the old smaller tower that was one mile Northwest of town. The stations signal was allowed by the FCC to go from 2,000 watts of power up to 30,000 watts of power. With the new tower and more power the station could be heard through out most of the Twin Cities area fairly well.

Gunner with his new and improve station were ready to fight fire with fire, in the Twin Cities radio market. He switched from a news/farm format to a Country format, and waited to see what happened.

In 1974 Gunner was looking to add talent and content to his station, and for some reason he thought Emma and I would make a good morning team. So he asked us if we would consider doing the morning show after we sold off the acreage. We agreed and that as they say is history. It’s where it all started.”

My Father Ole told me these stories when I told him of my want to keep rack of history for Hanna. He recalled a trip to the radio station one day, for me.

Ole tells the story like this. “It was just after that first Thanksgiving show was over when the show was really set on a solid course. It was getting ever so close to Christmas, the snow was knee high with a temperature that morning was a brisk 15 degrees above when the alarm clock rang at 4:30am it was time for your Dad and Mom to get ready for another show. At a few minutes after 5am they were in the truck on their way in to town. While on their way to the radio studio they were discussing what the show would be about that day.

Mom wanted to open up the phone lines and ask people to call in and say what the birth of Jesus Christ meant to them. “After all Ole it’s December 21st” Proclaimed Mom. Dad was a little hesitant over the idea, while he was a devote Christian who had been born again since his he was 12 years old, He had more of a quite practical faith. Dad said “Emma, we’re not preachers, And our show is suppose to be about family values and living right. A lot of people these days are turning away from God and if we come across as zealots we may not be able to get people to listen to those very Christian message we share everyday if people knew their source.”

By this time they arrived at the studio, Dad concluded by saying “what about those letters from “My” Brother Paul we have been doing, we read those almost straight out of the Bible but we read them in such a way that people who are anti Bible because they won’t read it, think Were talking about my Earthly brother Paul.” Mom than replies “I know what your saying Ole but it’s almost Christmas day, and I have been biting my tongue long enough.”

By now it’s 5:20am and they have a brief production meeting with Gunner. Gunner told them He thought it was time for them to do a community event to get them out in public, give those who aren’t from town a chance to get to really know who it is they are listing to. He asked them for ideas on what would be a good community event to host. My Father said “well it nearly new years, how about hosting a Holikow new year. We could call it “the holy cow it’s a new year already countdown” Gunner liked the idea but said he probably wouldn’t have the time to get it set up for this year, and then recommended Valentine’s day. Dad cringed, he has never been a fan of that touchy feely women’s day. Mom said oh come on Ole, Saint Valentine was a man. Gunner says well it 5:43 you two best get in the studio!

After get some records together and checking all the equipment out to make sure everything seemed to be working right, they sat for the last two minutes before 6am quietly waiting. When Dad wrote a quick note to mom, “I’ll agree to the Xmas talk now if you agree to no St. V. day.” Mom blurted out “You bet chya” right before Hans gave the 5 finger count down.”

I put in a remake of an original show log to give you a feel for how it really was.

6:00:01 Ole: Good morning Holikow and welcome to another Ole and Emma show.

Emma: On today’s show we are going to ask you to call in and tell us what the birth of Jesus Christ nearly 2000 years ago means to you.

Ole: Yes Christmas is near and we want to focus on the reason for the season. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Emma: Hans, what about you, what does Jesus mean to you?

Hans: Well I’m just thankful, plain and simple thankful. I know in my own life if someone had kept doing wrong by me I wouldn’t care about that person anymore. But not Jesus, He will forgive 7 times 70.

A call comes in: A Twin Cities business man calls in and says…

Biz man: I don’t see what the need is for Jesus and all the church stuff, I just celebrate Christmas as a day for family to get together.

Emma: Well are you a good person?

Biz man: I try to be. Why?

Emma: Well I can tell ya why, let me start by asking you where do you think you’re going when you die?

Biz man: Wweeell, Heaven of course.

Emma: Have you ever told a lie?

Biz man: well everyone has

Emma: But have you?

Biz man: Yes

Emma: What does that make you?

Biz man: Human

Emma: If I told you a lie, you would call me a liar, correct?

Biz man: Well yes.

Emma: Have you ever stolen anything?

Biz man: No, but what does this have to do with Christmas?

Emma: Humor me and you’ll find out.

Biz man: OK

Emma: So you NEVER stole anything not even an apple from a tree, or a cookie from a jar?

Biz man: Well if you put it that way, yes.

Emma: What does that make you?

Biz man: Let me guess, a thief.

Emma: correct, Have you ever looked at a woman with lust?

Biz man: yes, what man hasn’t?

Emma: Well, Jesus said that if you even look upon a woman with lust, you’ve committed Adultery of the heart.

Emma continues: Have you ever called someone a jerk or a moron?

Biz man: Yes

Emma: Well, Jesus says if you even say bad things about people, you’ve already murdered them in your heart.

Emma continues: You’ve just admitted to breaking at least four of the ten commandments, and Jesus says if you are guilty of breaking one of them your guilty of breaking them all!

Emma continues: So now when you die where do you think you’re going?

Biz man: I’ve done more good than bad so Heaven.

Emma: But Jesus says that only perfect people will be allowed in Heaven. That God can not even be near to a sinner. And that all of our so called good works are like filthy rags. So why should God let you into heaven?

Biz man: Ummm…. I’ve got to go…. (HANG UP)

After that conversation we played the song, “Amazing Grace” and went on with the show, that day many people were forced to think about what Christmas and Christ really meant. Looking back I’m really glad we did that show. Emma that day lead many to repent of their sins and put their trust in Jesus. But out of all the people that listened that day we will only know the full impact when we get to Heaven.

I asked my Dad “For the sake of Hanna, this book, and anyone else who wants to know, how do you know you will be in Heaven?” Dad replies “Well, I am a sinner just like everyone else is, but I realized my sins and asked for forgiveness from Jesus, and from then on because I knew that my fate in Hell was no more, I changed my life and began to live for Jesus. That is why I know I will go to Heaven!”

Then I asked Dad about the name of the radio station RWNB and what it meant and how it came to be. He explained “The call letters of the station are really KWNB but in some of the early advertising Gunner done, the way he wrote his “K” looked more like an “R” so people just started calling it RWNB, which Gunner started talking about “the Red, White aNd Blue Country” which was a perfect fit for this little Country station”

It takes money first and foremost, but it takes more than that it takes getting the right entertainer and letting the right people know which takes advertising.

For the show in Albert Lea I had hoped to get a big enough group of open mic people who would have a good time telling a few jokes. But after spending over $1,000 mostly on advertising I could not find enough people, I had went to different venues and groups around town talking to the about it and handing out fliers at events in Northbridge Mall I even went to the college in Mankato and was only able to find one person willing to both make the drive and also agree to be family friendly. Another person who agreed was someone I already knew, and that was only 2 people hardly enough for a contest or a show.

Just 2 weeks out before the show, I was unable to find enough sponsors to make my free show viable, and without enough folks to go on stage it would have been over, but I was able to get help from Joey ILO to put on a real show with real comedians, and I had signs up at Northbridge Mall along with new ads on the radio but the stations that I had advertised on then were not able to get me enough people in time. I don’t blame the radio stations or anyone else, it is hard getting new things to catch on.

Back in the 80s a company stopped advertising because they already were a well known company, and business fell by 20%. Another big business that everyone knows has big box stores located on the edge of town but yet they spend money advertising. The key in advertising is repetition, even a cute ad is only good if the person watching the ad is first moved to act, and then is able to remember your company’s name and then remembers to do it. Good campaigns take a long time to build momentum, and the most successful companies keep the message out and fresh or it will soon be forgotten as the drum beat of business and our busy lives keeps moving forward.

I was a fan of stand up for a very long time, but often could not find clean comedy and often it was price prohibitive, so I figured I could start a business and offer family friendly clean stand up comedy at a low cost, but as I start putting on shows I ran into road blocks most of which could have been overcome if I had more money.

The problem is a venue will charge you, and set restrictions. Then to get a pro comedian you have to pay them a good wage. You might need to buy or rent chairs and equipment depending on the venue. And then you need to get the word out as I mentioned above about advertising. All of these things can be done but when you’re a new guy without big bucks it is an uphill battle.

The second event in Mankato I tried things differently this time I charged $10 and paid for professional comedians, hoping that tickets sales would add up to the totals I was paying for things but that back fired. I bought ads on a local radio station and did a ticket give away, but at the end of the day I only had 8 actual tickets sold, out of a crowd of 40 which was less then the 50 at the last show in Albert Lea and most of the people were people I knew of or radio contest winners.

I could go into more detail but the point is it is not easy to get a good quality show on and have it be promoted right. This will not stop me because I believe in my mission of providing quality low cost entertainment for the family. This is why I am looking for new comedians to grow with, and doubling down on my advertising budget. I also believe Albert Lea will get better results for me because there are less entertainment options here, and in Mankato I was one of many and there was too much noise to be heard by the right people.

People passing by in Mankato Place had commented the night of the show that they would love to go to another show but they hadn’t heard about the one about to start so they could not attend. I will be doing shows in Mankato again after I get the formula right in Albert Lea.

If you look at shows like American Idol and The Voice clearly there is not only a demand for people willing to watch but the lines of people who want to try out for these shows is long, and I believe in time I can build up a comedy competition, and I know for sure with all the people going to movies every week that a market for comedy and other shows can be created as well if the price is right and the show is good, but of course it still comes down to creating awareness and demand, which I believe I can do and that is why in the next 5 plus months you will be hearing more from Wisecracking Comedy of Albert Lea!

So do you think you’re funny? Well Wisecracking Comedy is looking for new and upcoming comedians that we can grow with.

We have shows scheduled in Albert Lea, and are planning some in Mankato this is an effort to provide low cost quality entertainment the whole family can enjoy. We are focused on smaller towns because the choices for entertainment are more limited, but we think good clean comedy can go everywhere.

There are many good clean comedians now but not enough venues, and hiring established names is hard to do in smaller towns where the value of the name recognition is less and paying them what they are worth while keeping the ticket price is hard to do.

In time as the love of stand up comedy and other quality live shows grows in these markets we will be able to expand our offerings but as they say in baseball this is a building year.

So for that reason we are looking to find and hire new comedians and help you build your brand.

We are a small entertainment company based in Albert Lea who is dedicated to bring quality family entertainment to small and midsized cities around Minnesota, Iowa, and soon as we can, everywhere else!

Originally I set out to create a radio brand to offer comedy challenges on local radio stations along with other original programming over time including radio dramas among other things.

A small media company without a lot of money has a hard time getting noticed, so I looked at several options including online radio. The problem was where to start, starting a website is easy but getting people there is not as easy. So I decided I needed to work with local radio stations, and with most stations it is hard to get an unproven show on the air. I decided buying time and selling ads was the way to go and after much searching I found a station willing to give me a shot, that station was KBEW 98.1 FM a Country music station in Blue Earth Minnesota, about 30 miles from Albert Lea.

Northbridge Mall in Albert Lea allowed me use of a space in their mall for the show, but finding people brave enough to enter a radio comedy competition was not easy, nor was finding sponsors.

About 2 weeks prior to the show I knew it was not going to work, I only had 1 sponsor and 2 contestants. I made a call to Minneapolis based comedian Joey ILO who I knew a little through my job at KKMS Radio where he had done a clean comedy event for them and had been interviewed on KKMS Live and other shows on the station.

Joey excepted doing the show and brought some of his comedian friends with, and it was a great show! He not only saved me at the last minute, he also helped guide me to the fact that there is a market for clean comedians and that putting on professional shows and charging a ticket price may be the way to go. AND HE WAS RIGHT!

I again put on a show this time in Mankato a city with double the population of Albert Lea and more of a regional center, but it was not enough to build a bigger audience. So again I looked to how I can build this family entertainment company, so I decided going back to Albert Lea was the best avenue.

I am now planning to do a second show at Northbridge Mall this time around I will charge a $7 ticket price and feature a new comedy troop I am working to form. I want to help build up new talent, and provide an alternative option for family fun in small towns. In time I hope to develop a farm system of family friendly comedians and to promote other quality shows.

As for our name, in 1997 when I created the brand it was to be a radio network offering stand up comedy and other funny shows 24/7 and it was called simply Wisecracking Radio later as it developed into a radio show it was known as the Wisecracking Radio Comedy Challenge. After the February 29th event I changed focus and called the company Wisecracking Entertainment, then Wisecracking Family Entertainment.

Today I have opted for a shorter simpler name to reflect our core mission, hence:

Hello I’m Brian Link founder of Wisecracking Comedy and I would like to welcome you to our new website, or at least our new design using wordpress. The posts below serve two purposes, 1 they get out some of our early information again for search purposes, and it is a test of the new set up.

Over time we will be tweaking the look and feel of this site and adding new information so check back!

AFTER THE FEB 29TH EVENT WE HAVE LOOKED AT CHANGING FOCUS FROM RADIO TO PUTTING ON LIVE COMEDY SHOWS.

I feel a market exists to pay a comedian to perform and then charge a ticket price that is low enough for the family to afford. We plan to keep with a family friendly model and provide quality entertainment options to small and under served markets.

Down the road again I will look to build up a radio comedy challenge, but first I must gain brand value in the comedy business.

Our first comedy event is planned for October 2012 in Southern Minnesota details will follow on this page.